MoSi2-based ceramic heating elements are used in semiconductor devices and manufacturing devices for glass and the like because they excel in heat resistance compared to metal heating elements and other ceramic heating elements. MoSi2-based ceramic heating elements can be heated to high temperatures of 1,600 to 2,000 degrees C., and can achieve a high surface power density of up to about 20 W/cm2.
Because the MoSi2-based ceramic heating elements lack strength and soften at high temperatures, MoSi2-based ceramic heating elements of an elongated shape cannot be freely held by one end thereof alone. The MoSi2-based ceramic heating elements need to be held at predetermined intervals on a substrate such as a heat-insulating material.
In a situation where the MoSi2-based ceramic heating elements are held facing down on a ceiling side in a heating furnace, a structure is known where the MoSi2-based ceramic heating element (1) is attached to the heat-insulating material (2) using staple U-pins (3), as seen in FIG. 1. By making the heat-insulating material (2), to which the MoSi2-based ceramic heating element (1) is attached, a unit of a ceramic fiberboard, a heating furnace can be easily constructed using this unit. In this heating element attachment structure, because the MoSi2-based ceramic heating element is adhesively fixed to an insulating material with many staples, it is difficult to exchange the heating element alone when the heating element becomes degraded or damaged. However, in the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, the unit of the ceramic fiberboard attached with the MoSi2-based ceramic heating element can be replaced as a unit. Alternatively, while it is not impossible to break all of the staples, repair holes and reattach staples, this requires labor and a plurality of exchanges is realistically impossible.